String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10

1. 0:00
   Introduction, strings alone

   The strings begin alone, and their chromatic lines move away from a home key. Schoenberg described this introduction as a departure from earth, in which gravity loosens, the air grows thinner and earthly troubles fall away.

2. 1:14
   Soprano entry, first line of George

   The soprano sings George’s first line, “Ich fühle luft von anderem planeten” — “I feel the air of another planet.” The voice enters among four independent instrumental lines.

3. 2:48
   George’s poem Entrückung

   In George’s poem, friendly faces fade in the darkness. Trees and paths become unrecognisable, and the beloved’s shadow disappears. The speaker floats above ravines and clouds until only a spark of sacred fire remains.

4. 4:45
   First performance, Vienna, 1908

   The Rosé Quartet and Marie Gutheil-⁠Schoder gave the first performance at the Bösendorfersaal on 21 December 1908, before a hostile audience. In his later account, Schoenberg recalled laughter beginning in the scherzo and continuing through the two movements with soprano.

5. 7:52
   Instrumental coda

   After the poem ends, the quartet plays a long coda without the voice. The movement closes on an F♯ major chord.

6. 8:30
   Coda at the première, Vienna, 1908

   In his introductory note for the Kolisch Quartet recording (Los Angeles, 1936–⁠37), Schoenberg recalled that the audience at the first performance had interrupted even the soprano. After she finished, the four strings played the coda to the end without audible disturbance.

7. 9:50
   Final chord, F♯ major

   The finale closes on a plain F♯ major chord of F♯, A♯ and C♯. The quartet began in F♯ minor.

Joins

1. 1:14
   The soprano joins the quartet

   The soprano joins the strings over harmony that is not yet settled in a key. Her line sets George’s words against the quartet’s chromatic phrases, and the cello continues to move as one voice within the five-part writing.

2. 7:52
   String coda after the soprano

   After the soprano’s final phrase, the two violins, viola and cello continue alone in a long coda for strings only, which ends in F♯ major. Schoenberg described this coda in his introductory note of 1936–⁠37.

3. 9:50
   The final major third

   The strings close on F♯ major. A♯ replaces the A♮ of the quartet’s original F♯ minor, and all four instruments play the final held chord together.